Air-to-Ground Channel Model for Pedestrian and Vehicle Users in General Urban Environments

• Published in: IEEE antennas and wireless propagation letters Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 227 - 231
• Main Authors: Saboor, Abdul, Cui, Zhuangzhuang, Vinogradov, Evgenii, Pollin, Sofie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.01.2025; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Air to ground communication; Autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV); Autonomous aerial vehicles; Azimuth; Buildings; channel modeling; Channel models; Layout; Line of sight; Millimeter wave communication; path loss (PL); Pedestrians; probability of line-of-sight (<named-content xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" content-type="math" xlink:type="simple"> <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX"> P_{\text{LoS}}</tex-math> </inline-formula> </named-content>); Roads; Roads & highways; Unmanned aerial vehicles; Urban areas; Urban environments; Walkways
• ISSN: 1536-1225; 1548-5757
• DOI: 10.1109/LAWP.2024.3492507

Precise channel modeling is crucial for analyzing the potential of autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs) as aerial base stations (ABS) for communication in complex urban environments. Traditional air-to-ground (A2G) channel models, such as probability of line-of-sight (<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">P_{\text{LoS}}</tex-math></inline-formula>) and path loss (PL) models, typically assume uniform free space between buildings, neglecting the distinction between roads and sidewalks. This work addresses this gap by proposing a geometry-based 3-D PL model for urban AAV communication, explicitly considering both roads and sidewalks. The proposed model extends the city layout defined by International Telecommunication Union parameters to account for the distinct geometries of these two areas, catering to different users, including fast-moving vehicles and slow-paced pedestrians. The model accurately predicts <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">P_{\text{LoS}}</tex-math></inline-formula> and PL variations between roads and sidewalks for ABS operating at various altitudes, distances, inclinations, and azimuth angles. The model's accuracy is validated through a custom-made simulator.